What was tested at 1/4 scale before the Bv 238?

Short answer

The FGP 227, a one-quarter scale flying model of the Blohm & Voss BV 238 flying boat, built to provide data for its development. It was completed in early 1944, registered BQ+UZ. By then construction and testing of the BV 238 had already begun, so the program yielded no useful data.

Published: November 5, 2026 · Updated: November 5, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

What was tested at 1/4 scale before the Bv 238?

Model, Static, Curtiss HS-2L

A one-quarter scale BV 238

The FGP 227 was a scale flying model of the Blohm & Voss BV 238 flying boat, built to provide data for the development of that flying boat. For this purpose, the Czech company Flugtechnische Fertigungsgemeinschaft Prag (FGP) was commissioned to build a one-quarter scale test aircraft. It was powered by six air-cooled two-stroke ILO F 12/400 engines, each of 15.7 kW (21 hp), driving three-bladed propellers.

Completed in early 1944

The model was completed in early 1944, registered as BQ+UZ and fitted with a provisional wheeled landing gear: ten small wheels with low-pressure tires. By that time, construction and testing of the BV 238 itself had already begun, so no useful data was obtained from the program.

The flying boat it served

The BV 238 was the heaviest aircraft ever built when it first flew, in 1944. Flight testing of its first prototype began in March 1945. That aircraft was strafed and partially sunk while moored on Lake Schaal, several miles east of Hamburg.